Ugh. Cold. Help?

[Miraga]

So I seem to have gotten a cold from my boyfriend [although he denies it... >___>;;] and it's just terrible. I will lay down to go to bed and snot is just like drip, drip, drip from my nose. Gross, I know. I picked up some pseudephedrine (the good stuff, as my Mom calls it ) from the store but it doesn't seem to be helping. The day-time cold stuff isn't doing much either. Do you guys have any suggestions that might help? I'm also currently out of tissues so I had to nab some napkins at lunch. Hurty nose is hurty.

It seems like all I want to do is SLEEP. I get a lot of flack from the boyfriend about naps but that is just all I can think about. I got to my first class today and was just exhausted. I have to struggle through a 3 hour lab before I get to go home but after that I think I might just sit in the shower for a while (my dorms don't have a bathtub! it's very inconvenient). Do you guys get totally worn out just from a simple cold? This happens to me every single time I get one. All I want to do is curl up into a ball under the covers and pass out! I mean, that's not BAD right?? I figured sleeping/resting would be the best thing I could do. I plan on relaxing this weekend (going out to see a Body Works type thing and I am NOT going to miss that!!) but other than that I'm going to be on my laptop with all my covers, trying not to move (or pass out on my keyboard...)

They sell all those zinc treatments at the store but I am really skeptical on those (mostly because they're asking like 12$ for some q-tip to stick in my nose). I also don't typically take actual liquid medicine because, come on... that stuff is terrible. I still remember my Mom pouring out that grape medicine into that stupid little cup it came with and refusing to take it, although after some grumbling from my Mom I downed it.

Thanks for any advice/tips you can give me! Colds really knock me out and I have a big test next week! I don't have time to be sick! Even if you don't have any tips, thanks for listening. *crawls to her biochem lab and attempts experiments*

[Kamalia]

Oh, dear. I know how that feels. I hardly ever get sick, but when I do it feels like I got run over by a truck. And then trampled over by a couple of hippopotamuses.
No cold medicine appears to have an effect on me so I don't really have a suggestion for what to try taking. Just rest and relax, I suppose. Showers do indeed feel nice, too.

Hope you get better in time for your test!

[Teigan]

.

[Mozag]

This is going to sound really insane, and it probably is...but...err...drink hot water. Not tea, not c-vitamin tablets in it, just...errr..water. Boiled. And as hot as you can swallow it.

Yeah, I know it sounds crazy. My mother was told this by some professor or other some time ago, and every time she gets a cold (which makes her panic, since she's allergic to loads of antibiotics and is thus paranoid that she'll get something more serious), she drinks boiled water by the litre. And magically she starts to feel better really quickly.

I was sick for three days as well (only feeling fully well today), and I started on the water thing yesterday since I felt awful. Now, I'm pretty much fine: no fever, hardly any snot, throat ache gone. It's all very strange, and may just be my brain lying to me about the healing powers, but it's free and worth a shot!

Whether it helps or not, I hope you feel better soon!

[rubybeam]

Spicy foods and steam help cure runny noses, I know it sounds weird but it works like a charm other trhan that I think you should just sleep it off

[Sochi]

Echoing other people here, but plenty of rest-you're sick, your body is fighting the icky-stuff and rest helps the process. The less you do, the more it can do.

Drink a lot of fluids. Juice, Gatorade, water, tea, ginger-ale are all good when you're not feeling well. Stay hydrated.
If you can stomach food, please, do eat. Even if all you do is take a little broth/soup, it's a good thing.

My favorite "remedy" for colds is DayQuil/NyQuil (store generic works great, too) for the overall symptoms. This stuff comes in gel pills. So no taste. And thank the gods for that, DayQuil is horrid stuff. Should the dang cold try a break for my respiratory system and I'm coughing up gunk, Mucinex gets added to the mix.

Not sure how long you've been taking the meds, but they do need a good twenty four hours to get into the system, so give them time to start working.

My nose gets painful from too much tissue use, so I like the tissues with lotion. If you don't have access to such, try a mild body lotion, aloe, or vasaline on your sore skin.

Hot showers are wonderful too. The steam can help clear you out.

So, rest, recoup, and here's to hoping you feel better soon.

[Cialbi]

Well, tell your boyfriend that sleeping is actually the best thing that you can do right now. Getting enough sleep is crucial to your immune system; you're more likely to get sick when sleep deprived, and your body is better able to fight off the infection when you're resting or sleeping. Less energy and resources being needed by your muscles means more energy and resources diverted to the immune system.

The second best thing you can do is keep yourself hydrated. You may be lounging about and lethargic, but that's because your body is working overtime to fight the infection.

Contact professors, since you're being exhausted by this illness. Maybe your boyfriend can help you figure out everything that you'll need to do to keep yourself on track despite being so sick - I assume that he's feeling a lot better and more energetic than you are!

Finally, buy some saline spray to take care of your nose with. It's cheap, simple, and effective.

[Azunara]

Drink tea. Lots of tea. And sleep. That....pretty much helped me when I was sick.

[Lupis]

For colds...
Lay down with a very hot beverage. Jasmine tea works wonders for me. The REAL Jasmine, not that crappy Meijer's brand stuff. Also lemon ginger tea. ANY tea.
And have a heating pad set to medium or high on either your head - for sinus clearing - or your back just because it feels good.
Also, lots of blankets. Stay warm.
...And moist. Keep the air moist, dry air hurts.

[Cialbi]

...And moist. Keep the air moist, dry air hurts.

That's why I suggest saline spray. It's a bit of a tall order to keep the air moist in some parts of the country, after all.

[Tilo]

sorry for your cold Miraga

What helps us with colds is:
hot tea or soup
nyquil or robitussin
emergen-c
sleep, sleep, sleep...

GL

[Bulletdance]

Try to take a hot shower if you get too congested so long as you feel strong enough.
If it doesn't get better in a reasonable time contact your dr. for antibiotics if you haven't already.
Try to prop your pillows up so you can sleep comfortably slightly sitting up this reduces the likelihood of getting over congested. Hot washcloths over your forehead can help if you get migraines.
I hope you feel better soon colds suck!

[Redith]

Whatever you do DO NOT use Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel. It will cause you to loose your sence of smell

http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/ ... 167065.htm

[ummeiko]

Let's see... I've actually been relatively cold-free this winter (a happy side affect of the otherwise saddening having to quit my daycare job... but I was picking up any cold the kids got...)

Believe it or not, a runny nose is a good thing, as disgusting and obnoxious as it is to deal with. It means your system is flushing the irritants out of your sinuses and nasal passages. I actually have this really weird thing where I don't like Kleenexes, so I tend to go for really soft paper towels.

Sleep is good. If your body wants to sleep, let it.

It doesn't sound like you're congested, as your nose is runny runny, but do what you can to stay hydrated. Take hot showers. Drink hot water/tea as warm as you can get - the more steam, the better. Use a humidifier if you have one. Drink a lot of water, barring that, some clear broth (hence the chicken soup remedies...), and possibly some orange juice - vitamin C is good for your immune system. I have a friend who swears by cranberry juice as well. Just make sure what juice you're drinking is a healthy amount of "juice" and not just sugary. Ie, Tropicana Orange Juice is good... Sunny D not as much. When I was little, mom used to have us drink small amounts of 7-up... generally warmer than usual and a little flat. I'm not sure why, but it seemed to be okay.

If you get a fever, that's generally a good thing, medically speaking. It means your immune system is kicking into gear and you're actually fighting your cold. It also means, however, that you're probably at the most contagious.

Wash your hands a lot. Sanitize them if you wish... hand sanitizers vary in effectiveness - some are honestly just jumping on the bandwagon. To me, nothing is more important than a good antibacterial hand soap (follow it with a moisturizer or hand lotion if you want and are worried about your hands drying out... just be careful if it's overly scented to not irritate your senses too much).

I like cough syrups myself (particularly Thermacare), though since you don't, you might want to look into pill forms of cold medicine. I know dayquil/nyquil make some pill forms. As always with any kind of meds, check the side effects. A lot of cold meds will make you even more drowsy. And it's recommended that you don't take multi-symptom meds unless you have 3/4 of the symptoms. In other words, if you just have a cough, take just a cough medicine, instead of one that treats cough, headache, nausea, and congestion. No sense in throwing meds at your body that it doesn't need.

Sleep. Sleep and rest are really important, this is when your body is best recovering. One of the bad side affects of the "work work work" culture is that we rarely get enough time off to really recover... we tend to get pressured to going back to work/school after one day (if we even get a day off at all), and sometimes that's not enough. Sleep sleep sleep.

As always, if your symptoms worsen, or persist beyond a week or so, make a doctor's appointment to make sure it isn't anything worse than a common cold.

[Miraga]

(huggles to everyone! <3) I'm feeling much better I feel crappy in the mornings but I hate mornings, so... lol My nose is sniffly but I'm not totally worn out. The only thing that's happened is a weird "attack" on the bus. I had been getting a headache after a long Monday and was on the bus home. After about 10 minutes my head REALLY starting hurting, along with feeling queasy. On top of all of that, I started feeling extremely lightheaded. I managed to stumble back to my dorm where I turned on a hot shower and just hardcore spaced out for 30 minutes. The shower helped and for the rest of the night my body was really weak so I stayed in bed. It was really weird and if it happens again I will be making a doctor's appointment. Hopefully I will be fully recovered by next week and can do well on my exams!

EDIT: I was thinking about it and maybe my weirdness on the bus could have something to do with all the medications I'm on? What I've taken since I've been on is: Walgreen's brand nasal decongestant with pseudephedrine, Walgreen's "day time" cold meds (although I only took this once), along with my prescription drugs which are fluoxetine and Apri (a generic birth control). Hmmm... I shall google this! (I love how google is a verb. )